UK Borders Bill

The noble Lord’s proposal to limit the maximum period of imprisonment for an offence committed under Clause 3(1) to six months may be motivated by a wide range of concerns. We heard that the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, is concerned about prison overcrowding, a subject that has caused considerable concern and debate over the past few weeks. Our decision to increase the term of imprisonment for offences punishable on summary conviction from a maximum of six months to a maximum of 51 weeks is not intended to place a further burden on our prisons as a consequence of any routine lengthening of custodial sentences handed out to those who are convicted of the relevant offences. Rather, our principal intention is to provide greater flexibility in the sentences awarded and to allow greater account to be taken of mitigating and aggravating factors when sentencing. The increase in magistrates’ sentencing powers is also needed to enable magistrates’ courts to give custody-plus sentences, when they are implemented. I heard what the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, said on that. Ultimately, the Government’s intention is to introduce custody plus and to commence Section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 simultaneously at a future date. A consequence of that twinned approach is that, while the increase in sentencing powers may impact on the penalty imposed on an offender, the maximum period that an offender will spend in custody is likely to be 13 weeks, with the remainder of the sentence served on licence. The Government’s decision to defer custody plus reflects the prioritisation of prison and probation resources towards more serious offenders. That was made clear in the criminal justice service review, published last July and, in our view, it is absolutely the right approach. Of course, we shall keep the matter of resources for the custody-plus group of offenders under review and look at what else we might do for that group in the interim. A further reason for our decision is to establish consistency with existing offences against border agency colleagues, to which the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, understandably drew attention and with which he was in agreement. The sanctions in Clauses 3 and 21 are consistent with similar offences and penalties against other law enforcement officers, including officers of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, as the noble Lord noted. A key aim of the border management programme is to enhance joint working between the border agencies to bring about a cohesive and integrated border security infrastructure. Creating a different regime of sanctions and penalties for immigration officers to that in place for officers of Revenue and Customs and police constables would be entirely inconsistent with that approach. Furthermore, under the border management programme, it is envisaged that one agency would provide primary capability on behalf of the other agencies at the front line. Therefore, it is vital that immigration officers are afforded the same levels of protection as officers from other border agencies. That is entirely consistent with the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, that equal protection should be available to public service workers, a point with which the Government agree and I think is quite right. Immigration officers will be uniformed from the autumn of this year to create a more visible border control presence at UK ports. We want to ensure that we have done everything possible to minimise the risk of uniformed officers being exposed to physical assault and to ensure that immigration officers receive the same level of protection as other uniformed officers of the state. I further underline the point that we need to ensure that we enhance joint working between the various elements of the border agencies. The noble Lord, Lord Avebury, asked for some statistics. I think he wanted to know how many offences of common assault have been prosecuted. I do not have that data with me, but I shall instruct officials to find the answer. It is a reasonable request and it will be interesting to know the size of the problem. I am sure I have covered all the points, but I am happy to provide as much data and information as background to this as I can.